As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, from the Ukrainian side the protocol on the exchange of ratification instruments was signed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Czech Republic Serhiy Ustych, from the Czech side by the State Secretary for European Affairs, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Kohout. In accordance with the protocol, the agreement, signed on July 4, 2001 and ratified in 2002 by the parliaments of both countries, enters into force in April of this year.
Ukraine became the first state of the former USSR to sign such a comprehensive document on social issues with the Czech Republic. In particular, after its entry into force, for citizens of Ukraine and the Czech Republic who fall under the agreement, issues of pension provision, unemployment benefits, and assistance to families with children, etc., will be significantly easier to resolve.
Speaking at the ceremony of exchanging ratification instruments, Serhiy Ustych noted that the agreement, which is the result of many years of work by specialists from the ministries of labor and diplomats of both countries, will be another step forward on the path of deepening cooperation between Ukraine and the Czech Republic within a united Europe.